Friday, March 31, 2006

Learning a lesson... the hard way

As a new resident in Eckinton, I take my responsibilities to heart. I want to be a part of the hood, a good neighbor and one who is involved. About two weeks ago, the child next door came over and presented me with a fundraising pamphlet. His school was apparently fundraising for something, even though he wasnt sure for what (should have been a red flag). I decided to purchase some french bread pizzas, even though i am certain that they would have been much cheaper at costco. Hey, you have to help the local kids, right? I gave the 10 yr old a check for $17 , and he said i would be getting my food in a few weeks. I closed the door with a feeling like I was helping out, and being a good neighbor. Perhaps that is the compassionate liberal side of me leaking out, or perhaps I am an idiot.

Fast forward to yesterday. I was perusing my bank account online, as I do each day. I saw a strange check for $117. I opened the scanned copy of the check (what a great service) to see that someone, had added their name to the payee line, and added one hundred (in different handwriting) to the amount line, and obviously added the 1 in the number box. The shocking thing is that someone at a Chevy Chase Bank ACCEPTED this check in that format. Every other banker I have spoken to said that this type of check would never be accepted.

So, now I am going through the process with the bank to fix this. The money isnt a huge amount, but as a new home owner, clipping coupons and drinking PBR instead of Sierra Nevada, 100 bucks is a lot!

I dont believe the kid did this, but it seems that my little friend and perhaps the school have been duped. Or maybe it is just me. It pains me to say this, but this experience has soured me on being generous. I may have to find other ways to be helpful to the community, and our school aged kids.

8 comments:

Painful.My neighbor got hit with the same scam but he only gave cash.A general good rule to remember is pay when you get your stuff, not before. Like GS cookies. Also beware of kids raising money for their football team. If anyone really wants to help the team find out what pee-wee or other teams play over at the NY Avenue park and help them. The local ANC may have a good idea of who to contact to really help out the local team.

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